Question 1

Even when quotas are done well,the measure "percentage of quota attained" still omits much with respect to a salesperson's performance.

Accepted Answer

While quotas may be a useful tool for measuring a salesperson's performance, they do not take into account a variety of factors, such as the difficulty of the market or specific challenges faced by the salesperson. Additionally, a salesperson may do well in areas not covered by the quota, such as building strong relationships with clients or fostering new business opportunities. Therefore, even when quotas are implemented effectively, they do not provide a comprehensive picture of a salesperson's performance.

Question 2

The average order size ratio is also called the salesperson's batting average.

Accepted Answer

The average order size ratio is not called the salesperson's batting average. Batting average is a term used in baseball to measure a player's performance at bat.

Question 3

Customer relationship management (CRM)emphasizes the relationship of the customer to the salesperson.

Accepted Answer

Customer relationship management (CRM) emphasizes the relationship of the customer to the company as a whole, not just the salesperson.

Question 4

Careful specification of performance standards by territory will eliminate inequities across territories.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Careful specification of performance standards by territory...

Question 5

Sales people should be asked to prepare a self-evaluation prior to the formal performance evaluation.

Accepted Answer

Sales people should be given the opportunity to reflect on their performance and provide their own perspective before the formal performance evaluation. This can help them feel more engaged in the process and encourage open communication between the salesperson and their manager.

Question 6

Attribution theory classifies performance based on effectiveness,difficulty and effort.

Accepted Answer

Attribution theory identifies three factors that influence how people attribute success or failure: effectiveness (how well the task was performed), difficulty (how hard the task was), and effort (how much effort was expended).

Question 7

A salesperson's call rate refers to the ratio of calls made to the number of sales closed.

Accepted Answer

A salesperson's call rate refers to the ratio of calls made to the total number of prospects or clients contacted, regardless of whether a sale was closed or not. It is a measure of the salesperson's activity level and effectiveness in reaching out to potential customers. The ratio of sales closed to calls made is commonly referred to as the sales conversion rate.

Question 8

Unlike sales and cost analyses,the objective measures of performance have no disadvantages.

Accepted Answer

Objective measures of performance can still have disadvantages, such as being limited in scope or not capturing certain aspects of performance.

Question 9

In light of attribution theory,evaluating the performance of a salesperson is all about the sales manager attributing causes of that performance.

Accepted Answer

Attribution theory suggests that people strive to understand the causes of others' behavior, and in business settings, sales managers often attribute the causes of a salesperson's performance to factors such as their ability, effort, or the difficulty of the sales task. Thus, evaluating a salesperson's performance is largely dependent on the sales manager's attribution of the causes of that performance.

Question 10

As a rating system,BARS tends to emphasize effectiveness rather than behavior and performance.

Accepted Answer

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS) focus on evaluating an employee's performance based on specific behaviors that are directly tied to job effectiveness, rather than solely on the outcomes or effectiveness of their work.

Question 11

The average size of the orders a salesperson secures is as important as the number of orders.

Accepted Answer

The average size of orders can impact the salesperson's revenue and profitability, and therefore is an important metric to consider alongside the number of orders.

Question 12

Low sales per account ratio could indicate that a salesperson is not servicing his or her smaller,less profitable accounts.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Low sales per account ratio could indicate...

Question 13

The acronym BARS stands for Behavior Activated Ranking System.

Accepted Answer

BARS stands for Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales, a method used in performance appraisal to rate employees.

Question 14

Ability equals task difficulty multiplied by effort.

Accepted Answer

Ability is not simply the product of task difficulty and effort. Ability typically refers to the skills and competencies a person has that enable them to perform tasks. Task difficulty and effort are factors that can influence performance, but ability encompasses more than these two factors.

Question 15

In addition to sales and profits, the other measures firms use to evaluate salespeople fall into two broad categories: (1) objective measures and (2) subjective measures.

Accepted Answer

Subjective measures are a matter of personal opinion or interpretation, while objective measures are based on factual data.

Question 16

Ultimately sales organizations need to work toward developing a performance management system.

Accepted Answer

Developing a performance management system is crucial for sales organizations to track and improve the performance of their sales team.

Question 17

Many objective measures of performance evaluation focus on the efforts sales representatives expend rather than the results of those efforts.

Accepted Answer

Many traditional measures of sales performance, such as number of calls made or sales visits conducted, focus on the efforts of sales representatives rather than the actual outcomes of those efforts, such as closed deals or revenue generated. However, there has been a trend towards more results-oriented performance evaluation in recent years.

Question 18

As a rating system,BARS is costly to implement.

Accepted Answer

BARS (Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale) requires a significant amount of time and resources to develop and implement. It involves creating customized criteria and rating scales that are specific to each job and then training raters to use the system effectively, which can be costly.

Question 19

360-degree performance feedback focuses on those sources of sales performance measure that can be observed most closely,within a 360 degree radius.

Accepted Answer

360-degree performance feedback involves collecting performance information from multiple sources, such as peers, subordinates, supervisors, and sometimes customers, not just observable measures within a physical radius.

Question 20

Total costs divided by number of calls equals "hit ratio".

Accepted Answer

Hit ratio is the proportion of successful calls compared to total calls, and is calculated as number of successful calls divided by total calls. Total costs divided by number of calls would give the average cost per call.

Quiz 13: Evaluating Salesperson Performance